(2015/03/11) … since i’m traveling i don’t watch the news in TV or read newspapers, it’s very seldom that i grab one which is laying around. Hardy, our guide, reads every morning the newspaper and checks the weather report for the next days. This day i did read the newspaper, because an article said that they have found the Car which belongs do Dane Kowalski. It was found 95km south of Coober Pedy in the bushes, abandoned and in a ditch or somehow stuck there. Did he is a victim of crime? If so, it would be really hard to find him in the thousands 20meter holes of the opal mines.
Shortly after our start we reached Larrimah, an old 2nd World War historic site along the Stuart Highway. Some old and rusty engines and parts are laying around. The old rails are still there and going into bushland. Even so historic as the village, is the belonging Pink Panther Roadhouse/Pub. Compared to Europe is Australia’s history relatively new and you really have to be freak to jump on your bike and explore all the other WWII historic sites along the Stuart Highway. They are placed like pearls on a necklace at the Stuart Highway, as this was a important supply route during the war.
The best stop for today was definitely the Hot Springs in Mataranka. Hot? Not really, compared to the temperature of 30-35 degrees outside. I guess it was around 32 degrees water temperature. They had totally clear water and it was a joy for all of us to swim and relax there for a while. We would have liked to stay longer there, but we had to drive on. On the way back we spotted our first wildlife crocodile (okay, someone told us that there is one at the end of the spring). A short visit at the spring which was also bit impressive because there was also lots of water pumping out of the ground with an diameter of about 4 meters.
Katherine was the first big city after Alice Springs, where we also stopped for cooling down and fuel up the bikes (and to write another blog entry). Cooling down? Yes, with gelato and a minute sitting in the freezer. I already have mentioned that the alcohol tax is incredible high here and i guessed that there must be a lot of home brewers. In this supermarket you will get everything to start your own brew, have a detailed look at the picture. (sugar? pfffft!)
The nature here in Australia is really an eye catcher, if you have a good weather. Even with some clouds you can see an amazing sky on sunrise and sunset. The soil or rocks combined with the colour of the sun makes awesome pictures. We got the best view on the hill, sitting there, taking pictures and enjoying the scenery. Heading down i stumbled over a rock and one of my flip flops broke. RIP! I did bought them about a year ago in South Africa for about 5 Euros. Really sad that they didn’t made it around the world…